MSP slams government for year-long wait for answer

Labour Lothians MSP Kezia Dugdale complained today that the Scottish Government had taken over a year to answer a parliamentary question.

She lodged the query – about how many full-time equivalent (FTE) staff the Scottish Government employed in various sections – on October 27, 2011.

The answer, in the name of Finance Secretary John Swinney, was finally published just before Christmas – 14 months later.

The information supplied in the answer shows that the government has 6.9 FTE staff working in its freedom of information unit; 16.2 in its elections and constitution division; four in its media monitoring unit; nine in the visit and events team; one in speechwriting and 5.5 in UK relations.

Ms Dugdale said: “To ignore a question I asked for over a year is unacceptable. Despite all the spinners and civil servants, the Scottish Government seems unable and unwilling to be straight with MSPs.”